


Runaway

by sonicrainicorn



Series: Berry Done AU [14]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Married Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Mostly Fluff, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Past Infidelity, Sibling Prinxiety, brief discussion of sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25872058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonicrainicorn/pseuds/sonicrainicorn
Summary: Logan finds a friend in an unlikely place. She may not hold the key to fixing all his problems, but she might just fix his heart.
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Berry Done AU [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1259483
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Runaway

Logan sat at his desk with his head in his hand. His students were working on their projects so he didn’t exactly need to be busying himself. He kept an ear and an eye out in case someone asked something, but other than that, he flicked a balled-up piece of torn paper back and forth.

Under normal circumstances, he would have made an effort to not look so gloomy but these weren’t normal circumstances for him. Today was just one of those days where the brutal reminder of Patton’s little escapade hit him a bit harder than necessary, and he felt the need to apologize for even existing in such an unsatisfactory way. The downside to letting go of his anger was that he was now back to his initial response: inadequacy. He wasn’t good enough. He wasn’t enough _period._ Because if he had been enough then Patton would have been satisfied. But he wasn’t. So clearly, Logan did something wrong.

Well, not _something._ Logan knew exactly what it was. And it wasn’t what he could provide as frequently as Patton wanted it.

It wasn’t as if they never had before, it was just something Logan wasn’t fond of. Even before his time with Percy it hadn’t been something that interested him. But _after_ it became an issue on its own. The first time he and Patton ever tried anything he had a panic attack and couldn’t speak for twenty minutes after. The second time, Logan insisted it was something he could handle. Ironically, Patton was the one who tried to stop it, saying it was okay if he wasn’t ready, but he felt as if he needed to prove himself. 

It wasn’t a bad experience -- quite the opposite, as it turned out -- though it still wasn’t what he liked to do. Throughout all their time together it didn’t happen much; Patton always made it Logan’s decision. And Logan opted not to ninety-eight percent of the time. Most of the time, the thought of it made him panicky -- like he needed to get out and run as fast as possible. (Which he figured was an appropriate response considering his very first experience wasn’t consensual.)

The door to the classroom opened. He looked up to see Mx. Kasey McNiven. They taught world history in the classroom next door. They were a rather masculine-looking person; stubble, tall, well-built, the whole nine yards. They might have looked intimidating but they were rather gentle and kind.

“It’s about that time, isn’t it?” They asked in that calming deep voice of theirs. Anytime they spoke it sounded like they were reading a bedtime story. They could be telling you the most horrible news of the day and you would thank them for the honor of listening.

Logan checked the clock, even though he was sure he didn’t have to. Kasey had impeccable timing. “It appears so.” He gathered all his things and stood up.

“You would think after all these years they’d just let you have your free period at the end of the day.” They took his spot at the desk with a toothy grin.

“It’s much too difficult to change schedules.” He rolled his eyes. “Not that it’ll matter next year.”

“Ooh, your kids’ll be in middle school, right? Are you ready for that?”

“Not sure if I’m ready for the teen years, to be honest. They’re already little monsters.” He caught sight of a few students smirking at that. “Hey -- you’re all little monsters, too. Don’t think you’re special.” A few of them started to defend themselves. “Oh, sorry, can’t hear. I’m off the clock. Stopped being a teacher for today.” He started to walk out the door. “Take your complaints to Mx. McNiven.”

Kasey threw their arms out in exasperation. “Why do you always make a scene when you leave?”

He smirked a little.

The day had been rather gloomy with on and off rain since early in the morning. As Logan walked out, it seemed as if at least one thing was on his side today. The rain had let up. Sure it was still sprinkling, but at least it wasn’t pouring.

Rainy days rather sucked on this particular campus. Everything was outside. It wasn’t some huge building with all the classes down different hallways, every subject had its own building (it isn’t as big as it sounds, trust him). Which meant that students came in soaking wet just walking down the two feet from Spanish class. Plus, there was no cafeteria building, so there was nowhere for students to take refuge unless they found a teacher who would let them in. Logan always let them in. Even if he wasn’t feeling up to much of anything, he wasn’t going to let that interfere with how he cares for his students.

A strong gust of wind caused Logan to shiver. He pulled his coat tighter around him and ducked his head to try to avoid getting more droplets on his glasses that he could help. Roman hated being out in this weather, so he hurried his way down the familiar path to get to the twins’ school on time.

It never changed much. Some days there was more trash than usual, but other than that it stayed the same. The same cracked concrete and the same determined grass.

So it was no wonder that Logan didn’t think to look up as he passed by the old chainlink fence. It never changed. Why would he need to observe something he had done a hundred times before? Which is why it came as a shock when he heard the whimpering.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around.

Stuck underneath the fence was a little brown dog. It looked as if it had tried to burrow underneath the fence but got stuck. It was small with a black muzzle. Logan wasn’t quite familiar with breeds, but he was sure this was just a puppy.

Logan glanced around, trying to see if someone was looking for it, but they were alone. The puppy continued to whimper and yap for help. Logan looked around one last time before going to help it.

It cowered a bit as Logan walked toward it, making him stop. The poor thing must have been trapped here for a while. Logan continued cautiously. He knelt down in front of it at a distance that wouldn’t seem too threatening. He recalled the one time Patton showed him how to greet a dog and ignored the painful sting it came with. Now wasn’t the time. He slowly held out his hand so that the back of his palm would be near the nose of the dog.

It hesitated for a brief moment before sniffing his hand. It didn’t pull away or try to bite him so that was a good sign. At least something could go right today.

Logan then lifted the chainlink enough for the little creature to wriggle through. Once free, he expected it to run away. But it didn’t. It stood there and looked at him. As if it expected something else to happen now.

“What?” Logan said to it. “Don’t you belong to anyone?” Though a quick once over proved it had no collar, that didn’t mean it didn’t have an owner.

It yipped and bonked its head on Logan’s hand.

“I didn’t really expect you to answer,” Logan mumbled. Regardless, he rubbed the top of the little dog’s head. “You must belong to someone.” He jumped when a particularly large drop of rain hit him. It would start pouring soon. “Come on, then,” he scooped up the dog into his arms, “let’s get somewhere warm.”

* * *

When Patton got home he didn’t expect to find what he did. The first thing he heard upon opening the door was laughter. Laughter had become a rarity in the house. Confused, Patton stepped through the doorway.

Roman and Virgil were playing with a little brown dog. They chased it around and competed for its attention.

Then there was Logan. He sat on the couch with a smile on his face. Patton couldn’t recall the last time he saw Logan smile. His clothes appeared to be a bit muddied, but he didn’t seem to mind. He seemed content with watching his sons’ shenanigans.

Patton mentally cursed himself at being unable to close the door without a sound.

For when the door shut, Logan’s smile fell. The twins paused for a moment to see who had come in, and even the dog stopped to look. Its tail swished back and forth.

“I’m not sure what question I should be asking first,” Patton joked.

“Daddy found a dog,” Roman chirped.

“Uh-huh.” Patton didn’t know how to respond to that information. Logan didn’t have much of a preference for dogs. Or any animal in general. “Logan, can I talk to you for a second?”

Logan hesitated, glancing at the dog before following Patton into the kitchen without a word.

Patton tried not to feel awkward about it. There were very few times he and Logan were alone together anymore. “We’re not going to... keep it. Are we?” He wouldn’t mind owning a dog, but that might not have been the best idea. They were still in a weird spot.

Logan hesitated once more. “I told the twins that you would take her tomorrow to see if she has a chip and we could, possibly, keep her if she didn’t belong to anyone.” He didn’t maintain eye contact. Almost as if he was embarrassed about it.

Patton couldn’t hold back his smile. He missed this side of Logan. Not to mention that he didn’t refer to the dog as an ‘it’ as he might have in the past. “She?”

“Anyway,” Logan’s ears turned pink. “I’m going to go ahead and assume you’re on board with this.”

“Of course. One problem, though.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t work tomorrow.”

Logan stared at him. “You... don’t?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “There was a change, so now I get the day off tomorrow, but an evening shift Friday.”

“Alright. Well, I suppose we have to wait until then.” His eyes darted to the doorway when the puppy scampered in with Virgil and Roman following behind her.

Roman grabbed her. “Got her!” She squirmed, not very secure or comfortable with Roman’s awkward hug. “I win.” He stuck his tongue out at Virgil.

She freed herself from Roman’s grasp. She stumbled a little but regained her stance and ran to Logan, circling at his feet and jumping up to get his attention.

“What’re we gonna name her?” Virgil asked. He kneeled down to look at her better.

Roman’s eyes brightened. “It’s gotta be something cool. Like, like --”

“No. No naming.” Logan scooped up the little dog into his arms. She already seemed a lot more comfortable there than with Roman, though perhaps part of that had to do with Logan holding her better. “She isn’t ours. We don’t get to name her.”

They sighed in disappointment.

Patton sort of hoped she _could_ be theirs. She didn’t shy away from the twins’ antics or games and she seemed to be very comfortable with Logan. It was like she already fit right in. And they all looked so happy to have her around. They needed that. They needed _her._

The next morning -- much earlier than he would have liked -- Patton was alone with the dog. Logan had work and the twins had school (though they tried to make up excuses on why they should stay home) so he was the sole person left. Once everyone was gone, she circled around the house and started whining. She only stopped when she noticed Patton was still there. 

He couldn’t lie, having a creature overjoyed to see him felt pretty good. This little pup was full of innocence and ignorant of the things he had done. She wouldn’t ever look at him differently because she wouldn’t ever understand. Maybe that was a little selfish, but he hadn’t had someone be happy around him in a while. It was just nice to see.

“Alright little lady,” Patton addressed the dog, who had been following him around since he got up. “Are you ready for some breakfast?”

Since they didn’t know if they could keep her or not, they didn’t go out to buy dog food. Instead, Patton whipped up something from the food they had at home. Probably not the most nutritious thing for a dog, it was somewhat akin to eating fast food, but it would have to do for now. If they kept her they would have to get proper food. _If_ was the important word, however. _If_ they kept her.

Patton set her plate on the floor. “You’re a spoiled dog, aren’t you?” She started eating in that sloppy way all puppies do. He rubbed her little noggin and went to make his own breakfast.

Throughout the day, while Patton did mundane chores, the dog followed him around. She made sure to lay down or sit next to him wherever he went. He had conversations with her, pretending to hear responses on her end and continuing appropriately. It was a fun way to pass the time.

“Oh shoot,” Patton stopped mid fold on the shirt in front of him, “I have to pick the boys up.” He peered down at the dog at his feet. He couldn’t leave her here. This was still a new environment for her; she could make a huge mess. “Yeah, you’re coming with me.” He scooped her up.

She was a lot heavier than he initially thought. She weighed as much as a baby, which made sense considering the breed he suspected she was. Adult mastiffs weighed as much as a full-grown human. It only made sense for their puppies to be on the heavier side as well.

“You’re definitely going to be a giant dog,” Patton said as he struggled to hold her in one arm while he locked the door with his free hand. He set her down in the passenger seat, but she seemed more interested sitting in his lap. No matter how many times he nudged her off she tried to sneak her way back on. Eventually, he gave up and let her sit where she wanted.

When the twins approached the car, their faces lit up as they saw the dog. They clambered inside and leaned toward the front to compete for her attention. Her tail swished back and forth in excitement. She jumped to the back, crashing into both boys.

Patton smiled at their giggles. “Alright. You two have to buckle up before you keep playing with the dog.”

They tried to be as fast as they could so they could be the first one to play with her more. Unfortunately, their seat belt skills were equally matched so they finished at the exact same time. The dog didn’t seem to mind at all. She sat between them and let them shower her in affection.

“Can we _please_ keep her?” Roman asked. “I have, like, a million names we could use.”

“You heard what your daddy said,” Patton put the car in drive, “we have to see if she belongs to anyone first. We don’t want to steal her from anybody.”

“But she ran away,” Virgil said, rubbing her tummy. “Maybe she wanted to find a new home.”

Patton could have come up with another reason for her running away. He could have said she got out through a gap or chased something and got lost or someone walked her without a leash. But he didn’t. Because maybe Virgil was right.

Once Logan got home, the dog stayed at his side the most. She walked wherever he did and curled up on his lap whenever he sat down. And since she hung out with Logan the most, that meant the twins were constantly by him as well. Patton thought it was kind of cute to see them all like that. Full of smiles and joy. It was much needed for sure.

The next morning, Patton woke up early again. Not by his own volition but rather the puppy that licked his face. There was a moment of confusion mixed with partial disgust before the realization kicked in. They had a dog in their house, it was the morning, and Logan’s alarm was going off in the next room. That last one must have been why she was in his face.

“Okay. Down. _Down.”_ He pushed her away. She walked in a circle, tail wagging, and stood there. Like she waited for him to get up and follow her. He sighed, fumbling for his glasses. “You don’t like me getting sleep, do you?” He walked toward the bedroom but she sprinted in front of him, almost tripping him in the process. 

She paced in front of the door.

“If you had hands I could be sleeping right now.” He shook his head at her but opened the door anyway. Almost as soon as he did so, she ran in. She leaped onto the bench to jump on the bed. Patton rushed into the room. “Oh, no, no --”

She jumped right on Logan.

Logan shot up with a sharp gasp. He calmed down when he saw the dog. “Oh, it’s just you.”

“Sorry.” Patton tried not to cringe at his own awkwardness. He didn’t spend a lot of time in here anymore. “I couldn’t stop her.”

“It’s fine.” He adjusted himself so he could reach for his phone. The dog took that as an opportunity to crawl onto his lap. He turned off his alarm, which had no doubt been going on for several minutes already. “Crap.” He turned to Patton. There was always a specific look he had in the morning after just waking up. And though this morning, in particular, started off a bit panicked, he still had it. The way his bangs fell in front of his face. The way his eyes sparked with purpose despite still being sleepy. The way his cheeks and the tips of his ears were a little rosy because he always fell asleep curled in a ball with multiple blankets. Patton really missed seeing that. “Could you...?”

He didn’t even have to finish the sentence for Patton to understand what he meant. “Got it.” He left to go wake up the twins. Before he got there, he heard something that made him pause.

“Look, I’m sorry I locked you out, but you were sleeping with the boys,” Logan spoke in that tone that people always reserved for pets. “I thought you were going to stay there.”

Patton couldn’t help but grin. He got the twins up and ready while Logan raced to do his own things (with the dog following his every step). They were running late today so it was all a bit rushed.

“You two have everything?” Logan slipped his shoes on while putting papers in his bag. The dog circled around him. “Homework? Backpacks? Lunches?”

“Yes,” Roman answered, on the verge of falling asleep standing up.

Virgil rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“Glasses?” Patton added. Nowadays he tried not to interrupt their morning system so much, but it seemed pretty frantic today and Logan could use the help.

Logan paused. “Glasses?” He put a hand to his face. “You’re right, I need those.” He pointed at the dog. “You’re making me forget things.” She wagged her tail with more force. He hurried to the bedroom with her following close behind. “Okay, now we’re ready.” He ushered the kids out the door and they were gone.

The dog stared at the door, her tail still for the first time this morning.

“It looks like it’s just you and me again.”

She turned to look at him. Her tail started wagging again.

The day passed very much like the one prior. Patton did chores with the dog and then he went to pick up the boys. By the time Logan got home, Patton started to get ready for work. The dog broke away from playing with the boys to follow Logan closely. She stayed right on his heels as he went about his routine.

“You’re going to trip me.” Logan picked her up so they would be face to face. “I don’t need an added element of danger to my life, miss.”

She licked his nose.

“Fine. You get a free pass today.” He held her properly.

Patton smiled at the interaction. He stood at the doorway, trying to give Logan a few more precious seconds with the dog. They all loved her, but tonight would be the night that determined what happened to her. He knew deep down somewhere that she had an owner. She appeared to be a purebred puppy -- those don’t exactly go unowned for too long. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell his family that. They wanted to keep her. Heck, even _he_ wanted to believe they could keep her, but he had to be realistic. She wouldn’t be theirs.

“Alright. I gotta get to work.” Patton held his arms out for the dog.

Logan hesitated. He held the dog a little closer. “I... suppose you do.” He stared at Patton’s arms as if the dog would vanish if she was placed there. Patton could almost tell how fast his mind was spinning to come up with something that would lead to the dog staying. But in the end, he knew he couldn’t come up with anything without admitting he was attached to her already. He handed her over.

Patton wasn’t sure how Logan made her seem so easy to hold; she was like a baby with all the wrong limbs.

“Is she leaving now?” Roman asked quietly from behind them. The twins always had an affinity for just... appearing.

“Yeah.” Patton sent them a little smile even though he didn’t really feel like smiling. He felt bad. He was taking away his family’s happiness. Again. “I’ll be back later.” He left before their frowning faces could upset him any further.

He came back sometime around ten. The house was quiet, which wasn’t unusual considering the, uh, Unfortunate Event and the late hour, but it still felt a bit odd. Whenever there wasn’t anyone to greet him or some noise somewhere in the house, it sort of felt like he was sneaking in. He didn’t like it very much but thems the breaks or what have you. If he wanted to have Logan wait up for him then he shouldn’t have done certain things that he did.

He navigated the dark house toward the bedroom. The door wasn’t closed all the way, so he could see the light streaming out. Logan was awake. Good. He poked his head in, making sure to keep his arms out of sight. “I’m home.”

Logan looked up from the book he was reading. He sat cross-legged on the bed, but it didn’t look like he planned to sleep soon. “What did you find out?”

“Well, as it turns out, she _did_ belong to somebody.” Breeders, specifically. Apparently, the day Patton was out was the day they came by with a lost dog poster. She got out before the buyers could come by to look at all the pups.

“Oh.” He tried not to seem disappointed.

“But I managed to convince them there was someone else who needed her more.” If ‘convince’ meant offer to pay more than the original buyer. He was just lucky those guys weren’t too big on customer loyalty, yet it was worth it to see Logan’s face light up when he saw the dog again. He set her down on the bed and she bolted straight for Logan.

Logan set his book to the side and let her jump on him to lick his face. And he laughed. He _actually_ laughed. Patton hadn’t heard that in so long.

“Are we keeping her?” The twins asked from the doorway.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Patton raised a brow.

“Not when we have a dog.” Roman ran into the room and jumped on the bed. Virgil followed in a much more restrained manner.

Patton smiled. He decided to join them on the bed.

“What should we name her?” Logan asked. He made her settle down a bit so she wouldn’t slobber all over his face.

“Princess,” Roman answered.

Almost at the same time, Virgil said a quiet, “Leia.”

They glanced at each other for only a moment before responding together, “Princess Leia.”

Logan smiled. One of those rare big smiles Patton loved to see. “I think that’s a perfect name.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a fun tidbit: I accidentally forgot to add a scene in the last one shot. One of the things mentioned in it was how Logan's favorite song from Star Wars is Princess Leia's Theme. So it's safe to say I'm a little upset that I forgot to write it in (it would have made this so much sweeter)


End file.
